AldisHodge

(S02E12) "[Nathan's] drinking is not a problem. It's a symptom." - Eliot to Tara

Action dramas don't have to be so layered. As long as the screen is filled with lots of explosions and tough guys with their backs to them, smirking at the camera as if to say, "Oh yeah, that's an explosion behind me and I caused it. I'm a badass, even if I would face federal charges for detonating an explosive device in a public area. So who out there wants to sleep with me?"

Even though this week's Leverage had a couple of moments like that, it still managed to be more layered in both its plot and characters than it has a right to be.

Good news for everyone who's ever been screwed by someone in power. Not so good news for everyone in power. TNT just picked up Leverage for a third season, and I couldn't be happier. In the first season, Leverage worked because of the cleverness of the heists the gang got up to. I found myself trying to figure out all the angles they were working, but by the end they still managed to trick me a couple of times.

The second season saw them lose their stately headquarters and tackle these jobs in a much more street level fashion, and in several ways the show got better. At the same time, rather than the heist always taking center stage, at times it was our five characters that shone brightest.

By that I'm referring to the quirks of their individual personalities, because we haven't gotten a great deal of character development this season. The banter and camaraderie within the crew gives us some great lines and moments each week, though. Now that a third season is secured, I'd like to see the character arcs for those great personalities pick up again.

Have you seen TNT's new show, Leverage yet? It's been called a new age A-Team, but I see it more as a lighthearted combination of Ocean's 11, Alias, Burn Notice and even How I Met Your Mother.

In fact, I'm willing to go out on a limb and state in no uncertain terms that Leverage is the best new show to premiere this season. I would have given the title to The Mentalist previous to Leverage's premiere, but since then, it has continued to steal my heart a little more each week.

What makes Leverage the best new show this season? In no particular order ...

(S01E02) "The world doesn't work this way." --Dr. Laroque"Then change the world." --Nathan Ford

Oh, I really do like this show. It looks like the fine folks behind Leverage are going to use this platform to "expose" the kinds of corporate corruption that we all know are there but may just not be able to prove. As established over the past several years, a lot of these bastards at the top of the corporate world are just as bad, if not worse, than the common street criminal. In fact, I'm going to go with worse. Tonight's target: Castleman, a company that provides a private "army" to the U.S. Government. You know, Blackwater.

In keeping with the Robin Hood concept, the idea behind this heist is to ensure that PFC Dwight Caplan can get the rehab he needs to get out and start working. The kid's not looking for a handout, just a fare shake in life. And since it was Castleman, and not insurgent fire, who took that away from him, he's looking for justice. Which is what Leverage is all about.

(S01E01) Now that's what good television is all about. This slickly produced show managed to keep things light and fun in the world of high-stakes criminal espionage. It makes sense since executive producer Dean Devlin directed the pilot and slick and fancy is what he's all about. Certainly Independence Day got by on its look and feel rather than any great plotlines or dialogue. Devlin's production company has also been behind the very successful The Librarian series of films for TNT which are also very high on style.

The big season finale picked up right where we left off. Sam really is dead. As we found out later in the episode, Jake (Aldis Hodge) cut right through his spinal cord. It made for a nice scene for Jensen Ackles. We've seen time and again how focused Dean is on protecting Sam. So, in a move that surprised nobody, Dean went down to the crossroads, fell down on his knees...

(S02E21) Wow. Now, THAT is how you kick off your two part season finale. The other day I wrote about part one of the NCIS season finale. One of the problems with that one was that a large chunk of the episode was spent on just another random case. It wasn't bad, but it lacked the weight and importance that a good finale should have. Kripke and team Supernatural do not have that problem.

As Bobby said in the opening, "A storm is comin' and you boys, you are smack in the middle of it." It's been a long wait getting to that storm, but here it is, and it looks like it is going to be a heck of a ride. Some old friends are back, along with an old enemy. There are answers to some lingering questions, and twists and turn aplenty.

(S01E04) It's rivalry week as Dillon gets ready to go up against Arnett Mead. A bit of an interesting parallel there because while that will be a big game for the Panthers, the show has a big night next Monday. NBC is going to give Friday Night Lights a run in that post Heroes slot, and a (ratings) win is just what the show needs. But enough about that, this was another good episode.

The writers continue to strike a nice balance between the four major story lines. Those being the football team, the Taylor family, Street, and Saracen. I really liked the Eric and Tami story tonight, with one little exception. We already know that Eric was Street's coach when he was younger. That kind of implies that they have been in the community for a while. How on earth could the "tradition" of the party at the coach's house have taken everyone by such surprise?